Monday, June 29, 2020

Tooniversary: Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005)

Inspired by Japanese anime such as Samurai Champloo, but produced in America for Nickelodeon, Avatar: The Last Airbender became an immediate hit when it debuted on Nick in the winter of 2005, giving viewers a break from the relentless spamming of Fairly OddParents and SpongeBob Squarepants.

Part of the story borrows from the Scottish-produced Sherlock Holmes in The 22nd Century, which aired on Fox a few years earlier, in that Aang, the title hero, was awakened from a long slumber in suspended animation, in this case, lasting one full century. Aang is tasked to defeat the Fire Tribe, which is bent on taking full control of the world.

A YouTube fan channel named for Aang offers up the intro:



Avatar ran for three seasons, stretched over 3 1/2 years, giving way to a follow-up series, The Legend of Korra, which continues the story, and also is beloved by fans.

Rating: A.

2 comments:

Steven Dolce said...

Hard to believe this show is 15 years old. I was 10 when this show came out.

hobbyfan said...

Looked at a couple of 1st season episodes yesterday. Sokka was such a tool.....